Glorious Beast
by ScottyBgood
Summary: Jade's fascinated by the rumors of the cult of the Glorious Beasts. Thats because she came close to meeting said beast once, and has the psychological scars to remind her of the day the Beasts almost got her, even if she doesn't have memories. Then, one day, Jade gets to find out the secrets of the Beast, assuming she can survive the experience. Halloween fun for my jori readers
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or any of it's characters. Also, some names (in chapter two) were borrowed from Buffy the Vampire slayer, just cause.

Warning: Some torture in this chapter. May be triggering.

:}

It was after school on a Friday, and the gang was sitting around the Vega living room, enjoying some on line show about the hidden monsters that live in our world. "So, do you believe in Bigfoot?" Andre asked. Beck, from his place on the couch, smiled, but inside a warning was going off.

Jade smiled, shifting to get comfortable as her new girlfriend, Tori, snuggled into her. Jade had accepted that with a girlfriend, there was a certain amount of snuggling involved. "Bigfoot, huh?" Jade asked. "Yea, could be. There are a lot of things out there that science just can't seem to figure out. Things like the cult of the Beast."

"God, not this again." Beck groaned.

"Not what?" Robbie asked, confused.

"Oh, Jade believes there's this cult worshiping the Devil. You know, the Beast, as they refer to him someplace in the bible." Cat said, her nose then scrunching. "I think they refer to the Devil that way. My preacher called him the Beast, and I have no reason to doubt him, cause he was such an honest man. Maybe I should go back to church. I mean, it's been..." She checked her phone, "Three years. You think I missed anything?"

"Nah, things like that don't change too much." Andre said. "So, Jade, whats this about a devil worshiping cult?"

"Not a devil worshiping cult. Demons." Jade pointed out. "See, according to christian mysticism, the Devil fell for his attempt to overthrow god, but there were already demons around. Now, as I've tried to explain before, that's mysticism, not bible studies, cause the names of demons that show up all over the place, including the bible, if you look, come from other sources. However, this cult isn't even tangentially christian. They worship what they call a demon god, often called the Beasts, or the Glorious Beast, and that chiz is real. I know, cause I almost met it, the Beast, face to face."

"Yes, Jade, cause in a moment of terror, you hallucinated a monster that tore people to shreds." Beck said, showing a surprising lack of empathy for this subject.

"Say what now?" Tori asked, pulling away from her girlfriend long enough to look at her. "Whats this about you seeing this beast thingy?"

"I didn't actually see it." Jade admitted. "I passed out before it reached me. But I know what happened, I was there, back in Bowling Green Park..."

"Oh my god, where you there?" Robbie asked, showing a higher level of shock then most people would have expected. When Tori looked confused, he filled her in. "You remember, right. Back in 2008, there was this small desert town between Los Angeles and Mojave, called Bowling Green. Oh come on, surly you remember the Bowling Green Massacre, when someone slaughtered almost everyone who was in the town at the time? Please, you have to remember, cause over three hundred people lost their lives. It was one of the worst terrorist attacks ever to hit California."

"Only it wasn't terrorists." Jade said. "I woke up at the edge of the carnage, and saw what happened to the people. Hell, The rescue workers, they were sickened by what they saw. I watched them try to carry the remains out of there, through there attempts to cover my eyes so I wouldn't be scarred by memories of what had happened. Thing is, whatever killed those people was like a meat-grinder, turning the people into hamburger."

"And now I've lost my appetite." Beck announced. "See, thats what you get when you let Jade talk about this chiz. Jade, you were traumatized by that event, and the kidnapping." The Canadian realized he'd said too much, shutting down.

"Kidnapping?" Tori asked.

"Yea, her dad was, by that point, kinda rich. So naturally, someone grabbed her, took her to Bowling Green to hide out until they could send their ransom demands. Only, the terrorist struck, and now Jade's all mentally scarred." Cat smiled, blinking her eyes at the glare her friend was sending her. "What, we still love you. Maybe not Beck, cause you two broke up, and then you wound up dating Tori, who everyone could tell Beck wanted. But still, we all love you, with the noted possible exception of Beck..."

"We get it." Beck cut her off. "And Jade, don't take my being tired of you being fascinated by that chiz as me not caring. I do care. I care so much it worries me. I feel it's probably bad for your social life that you obsesses over some fictional demon god." His hand went up to stop her from protesting. "And yes, I know there are cults who worship it, but that doesn't make it real. It just makes people gullible as hell. That, or crazy."

"I'm vote we go with Crazy." Cat said. "Cause if that thing is real, I'd rather be crazy."

"You know, there have been a string of illogical terrorist attacks lately." Robbie pointed out. "Illogical cause you can usually guess at what kind of point the terrorist is trying to make based on the target. Those attacks have little to no strategic or symbolic value. Then again, the logic of the target only matters to the one launching the attack." Everyone looked at him for a moment, then went back to what they were doing.

"So, Tori, you okay with Jade being into this cult of the Beast thingy?" Cat asked.

"Cat, this isn't just my imagination." Jade protested. "I know how this thing works. I've told you, many times. The Beast manifests in our existence, often disrupting the world around it, and that can be explosive. Then, the Beast, when it manifest in this world, it's all rage, tearing things apart. I should know, I was the one who woke up surrounded by human hamburger meat. Twice…."

Tori leaned in and kissed her girl on the lips, silencing the rant before it got too graphic. Then she whispered to her girl "Jade, I'm not gonna judge you for what you think you experienced. Hell, it could be true. Just, it's making Robbie sick, and Andre's ready to bounce. Lets talk about more group friendly things, okay?'

"Fine." Jade huffed, and Beck gave what looked to be an annoyed groan. She defiantly saw him roll his eyes. 'She's mine, Beck. I wanna be your friend. I care about you, I really do, but this, it happened, and I feel good, loved. My parents, not so good at making me feel wanted, so I need this relationship. I'm sorry, but I'd rather fall in love with Vega then be alone.' Jade rarely didn't say what was on her mind. This time, she did, just so she could keep her friendship with Beck, who everyone knew had his eyes set on Tori once he and Jade had split. However, Jade was actuality afraid of losing friends at that moment, given what she'd just admitted. She'd been vulnerable, telling them about her obsession, listening as they found out about her past, and it was only now downing on her how big a risk she'd taken.

"Hay, I'm just glad Jade isn't trying to turn her enemies into Zombies." Tori joked.

"They don't sell any instructions on how to do that at the local bookstore." Jade replied, and the group laughed a nervous laugh.

"So, anyone wanna hear about my new one man play?" Robbie asked. "Technically, it's Rex's play, but I had to put my name on the forms, cause apparently Rex isn't officially a student at Hollywood Arts. So I'm getting some credit..."

Jade leaned back and enjoyed the weight of her girlfriend on her shoulder as Robbie and Andre discussed their upcoming performances. 'Yea, things are getting better.' She decided.

A short time later, her dad texted her. "Guys, I gotta head home. Tori, sorry I couldn't stay longer, but Dad's been on an authority kick for a while now, so I kinda have to go." Jade frowned, her face looking adorable in it's sad configuration. Tori kissed it, and the goth smiled, just for a second. "I really wanna stay and hear your untalented sister talk about her new school. I mean, she's going to Northridge Community Collage, and apparently is the highest scoring student there. Whats up with that? I mean, if she's that smart, she could have gone to any school she wanted. Or is Nothridge just that bad a school?""

"Okay, first, Trina is good, but Northridge, for a community collage, is a good school. Second, they have a good transfer program with UCLA, so she's spending her first two years saving us money, studying at a smaller school, and in general enjoying the usually hard first two years of her college education." Tori said, pulling her girlfriend off the couch and to the door. "Second," her voice dropped, more base, and softer, "I kinda had something planned. Thing is, while we've only been dating a short time, we've known one another a lot longer. Our feelings, or at least mine, I suspect there not so much developing as developed. If I'm right, then we can take a couple of risks we otherwise might wait for. Thats why, there's something special I really wanted to show you."

There was a whistle, and Tori spun around, in Jade's arm, and pointed a finger at Rex. "Clean your mind. We're not talking about sex."

"Sure you weren't, cupcake." Rex said, but they let it slide, so Jade could get her goodbye kiss from Tori.

"Text me as soon as you get home." Tori instructed.

"Yes mom." Jade dismissed, waving her hand as she walked out to her car.

"And you claimed you weren't talking about sex." Rex joked.

"Sorry about her." Beck said. "Jade had one bad experience, and now believes she was that close to s0mething supernatural."

"Do you believe in the Beast?" Tori asked.

"I don't." Cat said. "Now, I do believe there's some demon out there claiming it's a god, to fool the unwary. But a demon god? That would mean that there are such things as demon gods, and I'm not ready to believe in that. Or climate change." The redhead nodded, confirming her belief in what Fox News told her.

"I, for one, am glad she showed us this side of her." Robbie said. "I sometimes feel like she doesn't trust us with her secrets."

"Why wouldn't she trust the host of Robbarazzi?" Andre asked.

"Starring Robbie Shapiro." Tori, Beck and Cat all echoed one another, their unified voices making the puppeteer shrink in his seat.

"But yea, I think maybe we could have been more open to her." Dre continued.

"Just don't encourage her." Beck said. "I'm afraid it'll hurt her chances at finding someone." He glanced at Tori. "You know, long term."

It was Tori's turn to roll her eyes and remain silent in the name of keeping a friendship.

Jade drove home, taking the most direct rout. Normally, she'd drive up into Shadow Creek park, just for the beauty of the drive, but her father had been on her case for her practice of taking the long rout when he needed her. Jade was confused as to what to do. She wanted to defy the man who showed her so little affection, but at the same time, desperately wanted whatever affection he'd let slip her way. Caught up in her thoughts, Jade hadn't noticed the oddity of there being road construction late in the evening. City roads usually had construction in the middle of the day, ending just before, or after, rush hour. It was only freeways that had construction after dark, so as to avoid the majority of the traffic. But in the evening, there shouldn't have been any, a fact Jade normally would have known, if she weren't so distracted..

Jade followed the instructions, both the signs diverting cars, then the men in orange vests and hard hats, telling her to pull her car over, following the other cars driving that stretch of road that evening. She was directed down the detour, down a smaller street, and from there to the side where a man knocked on her window.

"What?" Jade asked, not bothering to lower the glass. She hoped this was something minor, and not some creep taking advantage. However, he was wearing the same shiny orange vest and hard hat as the other construction crew members.

"Sorry, but the police are kinda stickers, and you have a rear light out." The man said. "You can fix it when yo get home, but I thought I'd tell you now, maybe save you a 'fix it' ticket."

"So what? I get out of my car, and you show me?" Jade asked, pulling out a long, sharp pair of scissors.

"Nahh, just being neighborly." The construction crew member said. The man started to turn away, when there was a crash, and several heavy looking pipes rolled into the street ahead of Jade. "You, stay in the car." The man instructed.

Jade watched the man head over to check out the noise, not realizing she was the only car on the road. Worried about what was going on, a knock drew her out of her semi trance. A woman was standing there next tot he passenger side of her car. "There's an exposed wire. I'm gonna need you to get out of your car, on this side of the road, away from the danger."

Jade crawled across her front seat, to the passengers side, and got out of her car, where the woman helped her out of the vehicle, and used the close proximity to taise her. Jade felt her muscles tighten, and then she started to fall. As Jade tried to recover, shake off the effects of the taiser, a needle was stuck into her body, near her neck, and the goth was quickly dossed with some drug. Seconds later, her world went gray, fuzzy and blurry, and she felt herself being picked up and carried away.

The pale girl felt a bag puled over her head, and in her impaired state, it started to feel like she was unable to breath. The difficulty in drawing air through the material, while not impossible, made her muddled mind feel as if she were suffocating. Her bound, drugged limbs couldn't reach up and pull the bag free, while her addled mind let her fear run wild. Panic started to eat away at her, even as she became more and more disorientated. 'Tori, my god, Toir, I'm so sorry.' She thought, pushing her mind to focus on anything other then her difficulty breathing. 'I'm sorry I'm going to die, alone and afraid. I'm sorry I won't be there to protect you, like Beck never was for me. Daddy, I'm so sorry for whatever it was that made you keep your distance. I love you. Mommy….'

Her mind danced from one person to the next, including her ex, who she begged, silently, for forgiveness. 'Beck, I'm so sorry. I know it's my fault we could never work. I could have tried harder, been a better person, less of a gank. I could have lied to myself, pretended that Tori didn't have such a powerful effect on me. I-I could have told you, long before we broke up, about how I was feeling about her. How I suspected I was crushing on her, and that was why I lashed out at her. Maybe it wouldn't have saved us, but at least we'd still be friends… I'm so sorry I never was able to make it up to you, taking you away from all those girls who would love you, no mater what. At least, maybe, you'll have Tori. She deserves the best...' Her sadness and regret almost broke through the panic. Almost.

Unaware of being moved, having been placed in the back of a van, the goth found herself focusing on other feelings. Lost, panicked and terrified and holding onto whatever hope she could find, Jade was only aware that she couldn't catch a decent breath, and she felt like she was drowning. The hope that Tori would be taken care of was a cold comfort to a mind that vacillated back and forth into panic, where thoughts were lost in a cloud of hysteria. She felt like she was dying, all while she tried to make whatever deal she could with the universe to pull any good out of this fear that she could.

Only her fear seemed to grow upon itself, taking up more and more of her thoughts. Memories that flashed through her mind drew muted responses, as the fear ate away at her ability to have any other emotional reaction. Only pain, sadness and regret seemed to burn a temporary path through her fears. Unable to accept she was that scared, Jade clung to those dark memories, finding new regrets in moments where rage ruled her life, even when the anger was justified. But the anger of those moments had died. Under that hood, Jade felt no rage, only the cold bite of her fears, growing in bounds as she was left to her own memories and her dread at suffocating. Jade even begged to pass out, just to stop the pain, but fear based begging didn't seem to draw mercy from any higher, or lower, powers.

Jade was a blubbering mess by the time the bag was pulled off of her head. Crying had overtaken the last of her self control, leaving her lost and scared, a child left alone in a strange place. However, the crying goth still only took a few moments of tears to realize two things. One, that she could breath more freely, and two, that the bag was off her head.

It took her a good ten minutes to gain control. She slowly found her way out of the terror of dying she'd fought most of the drive up, only to see that the initial panic was unnecessary, caused by the combination of drugs and the bag, creating a perverse form of waterboarding. Now, however, she could see she was in some dark, isolated place surrounded by masked men who probably meant her some form of harm. "Wha..?" She tried, but her voice was too horse to be understood. 'god, how bad is it gonna get?' She reached for her rage, to free her and give her some kind of power in this dark situation, only to find fear, and the men around her.

"You, girl, have been marked by the Beast. Because of that mark, your experience, you shall be the sacrifice that opens the way for it to manifest. You are it's way into this world." Explained a man dressed in a loose, long brown coat over his blue jeans and tee shirt. A mask, basically a thin strip of cloth with eye holes tied around his head, concealed his identity from casual observation. Overall, he gave of the image of the high priest in a low budget horror film, where they couldn't even afford costumes, and had everyone bring whatever they had from home to use as costumes. "But first," he continued, "you must be cleansed, and cleansed in pain."

Still weak from the earlier panic, Jade found herself chained to a post, and her body manipulated so that just two muscles held most of her weight. She'd been forcefully placed in stress positions, chained in place, and watched by the cultists until she started to wobble. The threat of pain, not being able to breath, was used to keep her in place, but slowly, as the hours passed, that became harder and harder. Her body was shifted from one position to the next, weakening her overall while adding to her supposed 'baptism.' The one consistent was, after a short while, every position hurt. And each set of muscles continued to hurt as she was moved to the next position.

Then, after a few hours, her muscles aching, her body unable to stand on her own, she was led in to a room where the entire cult was gathered, man and the few women. There, chains hanging from the roof, near the center of the room, where attached to her wrists. Her arms were pulled up until she was almost standing, hanging by those limbs, and the pain to her shoulders was immediate. Then, her cloths were removed, cut with her own scissors before being ripped off her body. Her naked form drew whistles, hoots and jeers from the men, and the only sympathetic looks she'd ever draw from the pitifully few girls there. Two of those girls carried a thin leather cloth in their hands, hanging it from Jade's shoulders, covering her back. It was her only warning.

Jade was dimply aware of the embarrassment, the shame, because the pain in her limbs had dulled her to all human emotions. The first snap of the whip, however, awoken her to those feelings, as new pain shot through her body. Each stroke of the lash added to her overall ache, while also waking her to the fact that she was still able to be hurt even more. Stroke after stroke hit her back, causing Jade to cry out in pain. Her mind was far past bargaining, far past worrying about those she loved. All nobility was gone, replaced by the pain, her animalistic desire to live, and fear. An odd fear that denied all rage, only allowing terror to eat away at anything human, leaving only a wounded animal hanging there, hurting, waiting to die, while too scared to do anything but try to live.

Jade wouldn't, couldn't admit it, but at that moment, she would have traded anything just to live. The pain had taken her will, her desire, her pride. Jade just knew she was hurting, and that was all. Later, shame at what she'd been willing, in that moment, to do to ends her pain would tear her up. That was, assuming she had a later.

In time, a blissfully short time later, the flogging stopped, and Jade was taken down from where she was hanging, then placed in a small animal cage where everyone could see her naked form. It was uncomfortable, in that dog crate, but at least she didn't have to support any of her body on her tired, weakened limbs. Jade couldn't stand on a bet. But the cage was too small, giving her almost no room to move, while keeping her in a painfully uncomfortable position.

The high priest from earlier drew everyone's attention, declaring "We will now get ready for the ritual. Further cleansing of the sacrifice may commence in one hour. Until then, she may recover from he ordeal so far. Gentlemen, enjoy her, because tonight she dies."

Jade lay in the confined space, desperately trying to regain some level of ease from the body's constant aching. Her body hurt, the floor was steel mesh over concrete, with a thin layer of some kind of material laid down to keep her from hypothermia before they were ready to sacrifice her. Not so much comfort as preventing her from going numb.

"I hope I get to ride her first." One guy said. "If I have to wait too long, it'll take a major assault to get her to feel anything. I wanna hear her screaming while I make her feel both so good, and the pain. I'm gonna rape her clean."

"Oh, how many of us do you think they'll let have her before they kill her?" Another man asked.

'That depends on how much she's resisting." A third tossed out. "As long as she suffering, they may let us all have a turn. But when she gives in, just lets it happen, they're done with that, and she'll be taken to the place of sacrifice and given to the Beast."

Jade lay there, listening, when one of the women made her way closer. "Listen, it may sound like you wanna just give in and die, but thats not gonna help you any. They're giving you a chance to recover some feeling before the sacrifice. They're gonna cut you, shallow cuts to let you bleed, and then they'll let you bleed out, hurting, in pain, but bleeding as long as possible. They think that this, in the right place, will open the portal and let the avatar of the Beast come forth. Then, we'll all get rewarded. So, struggle as long as possible, so you lose feeling. There's no real reason you should suffer any more then you already have. Just, make sure you're strong enough to last, so the Beast can have enough time to enjoy itself here, before it devours your soul and returns to it's own world."

The pale girl felt like one continuous bruise, hurting from so many places, while ashamed of what she'd been willing to offer just to make the pain stop. Jade was hanging by a threat, waiting to be violated before being offered up to the Beast. 'Tori, please, find some happiness, cause me, I'm gone. If their wrong, and for the first time, I'm wishing they are, I'll bleed to death, naked and in pain, while a crowd watches. But whats left of me when they do that, it won't be fit for anyone to love. No, it's better if I die, and then you'll be free to love again, maybe even make Beck happy. And if their right, I'm just praying to whatever gods are out there that you remain safe, because the Beast, when it manifests, it brings destruction. I don't want you to die with me. I want you to live, and hope we're far enough away that it doesn't reach you. I… I'll do what I can to get killed, die before they can slice me open. Just forget about me and live, okay...' Her tears, fresh one's staining wet flesh over older tears, flowed freely. Jade didn't realize she could cry this much.

Just when Jade felt she was ready, had a plan of action, they came for her. The men pulled Jade's naked form out of the dog crate, and dragged her along until they reached a door. Jade, for all her plotting, couldn't even begin to resist, her body hurting too much, her limbs too sore from the stress positions and from the beating she'd taken. Even the rage she tried to summon, to help her overcome the pain, just turned to fear, eating away at whatever resolve she had, while denying her the adrenaline rush she'd hoped to use to break free.

Once they reached the door, and it was opened, the cultists who were dragging her along, almost absentmindedly took her outside, and into the moon lit night, with her legs dragging along the ground. The pale girl shivered in the cold, but that was just about the only moment she could muster, as her body hadn't regained any strength yet. 'The stress positions, those were meant to weaken me, take away my ability to fight. Those bastards knew what they were doing...' Her eyes locked on the men she'd already picked out to fight, to end her life before they could use her. Only now, she knew she wasn't about to die.

Only she was, just not the way she'd chosen. In front of her was a tower of some sort, pushing up into the sky. Jade had no idea where it came from, or how high it was, she just realized they meant to take her to the top. There was a crude elevator, powered by pulleys, rope and human effort, that the men placed her in, tying her so she couldn't just roll out of it and fall to her death. Then, people started pulling the roped, using a winch to anchor the rope and prevent sliding.

Slowly Jade found herself being hoisted up, higher and higher, towards the platform at the top. Quickly, the ground fell away, revealing a view that hinted both at how height she was, and how far away they were from civilization. Jade could guess that they were in a small part of the acres of undeveloped land that dotted throughout the Los Angeles area. The platform, she guessed, was maybe sixty feet up in the air, near a building that probably wasn't supposed to be there anyways, that had been housing the entirety of the cult.

Jade watched as the members of the cult were surrounding the structure, maybe forty of them in all,. Dressed causally, but wearing strips of cloth tied around their heads, with eye holes, making masks to hide who they really were. It was intimidating, the entire situation, even if a bit B movie. However, the goth felt oddly at peace, because she had accepted there was nothing she could do about it until she reached the top. Inside, however, she was making plans. 'Either I get away, or I fall off, and they lose their sacrifice. Who would have thought Blazing Saddles had it right. Take myself hostage.'

Jade was in for a shock, however, when she reached the top and saw her own father, tied to a chair on the far side of the platform, near where the stairs reached that level, with a clear view of the X shaped frame where they were going to force jade to stand. He looked upset, betrayed, and angry at what was about to happen. But he was also tied down, so the only thing he could do was watch as two cultists removed her from the elevator, putting some kind of sefety harness on her before untying her, then muscling her over to the cross where they'd tie her into place, then finally removing the harness, once again leaving her naked. Jade was now at the top of the tower, on the platform, presumably in the right spot to open this portal. She was also cold, shivering in the frigid night breeze, as she was waiting to die.

The high priest had been waiting int eh shadows near the top, and started leading the cult in some kind of chant, spoken in a language Jade didn't quite understand. As the cult went through their incantations, jade found herself looking at her father, naked to the world, wondering why it had to end like this.

'Dad, I know we never got along that well, and I could have been a better daughter. I'm sorry...' Fresh tears welled forth, adding to the deluge she was already crying out. She felt even weaker now, exposed to her father in a way she wished never to be shown off to anyone. No matter how she thought about it, she'd lost. Completely and unquestionably, Jade was defeated, and she would die here, naked, in front of her father.

Her mind raced back to her past, how her relationship with her father always felt a bit off, like somehow she wasn't quite right. 'I tried. I tried being the good girl, and you just left me. I tried achievement, and you never once showed. I tried being a discipline problem, and mom told me not to get caught, while you just had others handle me. It always felt like I wasn't good enough. I was never able to win your love, because I just wants good enough...' Her body would have collapsed if the frame wasn't holding her up.

'I eventually decided I was going to succeed, cause that was he one thing you seemed to notice, but I was going to do it as an actress, or writer, or anything creative, cause I have talent, and I'd show you how good I could be. Damn it, dad, would that have helped you love me? I love you, I've always loved you, and it felt like maybe I just couldn't reach you. Is that why their torturing you too? Because you did love me? I just...' There was a sound, an odd houwling, off in the distance, that drew cheers from the cultists. It also reminded her how little time she had left.

"Dad, I love you." Jade said, trying to be heard. But the only reaction to her attempt to talk, through the tears and regret and pain, was a mumbling sound that caused one of her handlers to gag her. 'Dad, please, don't remember me like this. Remember me as your little girl, the girl who loved you, no mater what...'

The high priest, robed in his brown coat, stepped forward, knife in hand, and for a moment, Jade hoped it would be over quickly. She hoped that the girl had lied about the cuts, like she'd lied about the rape, and the priest would slice her throat or stab her in the heart. Jade didn't want her father to see her die, but if he had to, she wanted it to be over quickly.

"Now, shallow cuts." The man said, slicing her open along her thighs. "Bleed out, girl, and last as long as you can. When the Beast devours your soul, you will have served your purpose."

Then, the priest turned to the attendant. "Why's she gagged?"

"I think she was begging for something." The man said with a shrug.

"I want the Beast to hear her screams." There was a joy in the priests voice that sent a chill down Jade's spine, even as her bleeding wound stung, and her muscles and back ached, and pain lanced through her entire body. "I want us all to revel in her pain, as her life, her very essence, brings us the Beast's blessing."

Jade knew she was dying, and no force could save her. Even if the horror from her nightmares never showed, she would bleed out before anyone would even realize she was taken. 'God, please help save my dad. Protect him, and Tori, and Cat, and hell, even Beck. Protect them cause if the Beast comes, they'll all need help, and if it doesn't, these monsters may just go after one of them. Daddy...' Her eyes locked on his, watching as he looked on, horror on his face.

Then, a sound ripped through the air, drawing all eyes towards it's source. It sounded like a roar, one Jade remembered from her worst days, when the Beast's sounds echoed through the remains of Bowling Green. Jade's blood froze, and her body shook, as she realized they may have done it, and summoned the Beast incarnate. Not even questioning why it was coming from the side, down on the ground, as opposed to some portal high in the air, right in front of her, Jade cried out to the heavens. Fear and regret tore through the night in one desperate, echoing sound.

Moments later, the gathering below was flooded by people in red-brown monks robes, the color reminiscent of dried blood. The new cultists were armed with swords and similar medieval weapons, even as they closed in on the guards around the camp, slicing and killing in a maddened frenzy.

Gun fire broke the charge of the robed cultists. The people in brown robes dove for cover, avoiding the often wild shots that the local cult retaliated with. For several moments, Jade almost forgot that this was all mute, and the monster from her nightmares, the one she'd been so close to but could never remember seeing, was about to correct the mistake of leaving her alive.

In a blur of gray fur, it entered the fray. Jade wasn't sure what it looked like, only that something bounced among the more causally dressed cultists, slashing and killing with abandon, moving so fast that only a lucky shot might hit it. The form must have been huge, at least seven feet tall, and probably larger, with massive musculation under the gray fur. It seemed unworried about the cultists who'd grabbed Jade, but avoided hurting the people dressed in the reddish-brown robes. But to Jade, it didn't much matter, she was seeing her own end moving among the people down there, even as the high priest called out for it to stop.

"Oh great and mighty Beast, we are the one's who called to you. Why, or lord, are you slaughtering your faithful?" The priest called out.

"DUDE, FORGET THAT." One of his assistants screamed. "WE HAVE TO END THE RITUAL. WE HAVE TO KILL THE SACRIFICE."

At that, a figure dressed in magenta robes, with azure trimmings, walked into the clearing, looking up at where Jade was. It had a demonic visage, and screamed in a deep, guttural voice "Recover the girl!" Followed by a series of nonsense sounds that Jade swore somehow drew her, and everyone else's, full attention straight to it.

Moments or minutes, Jade couldn't tell how long she stared at the demon face of the priest in magenta. Her mind reeled, horror filtering in, along with a dread sense of familiarity to it's voice that was impossible to believe. 'It can't be, but somehow, I get the feeling I know that voice. Like I've heard it before...'

A scream by her ear drew Jade's attention back in time to see one of the assistants ripped in half by the beasts strength. The other was already dead, while the high priest was falling to the ground, swept aside by the monsters terrible power. It was like it didn't try to kill him, just push him out of the way, and the priest flew from the platform.

Fangs dripping with some kind of ectoplasmic saliva poking impossibly out of it's animalistic face, the beast towered over Jade, watching her. Moments passed, Jade's heart hammering against her chest, as the monster loomed above her, before that familiar voice from below called out again, instructing the creature to 'Gt the girl,' and a clawed hand reached for Jade….

And past her to the bindings that secured her to the frame. Bindings that snapped at the creatures strength. Then Jade felt herself being lifted up, away from the frame, and moments later she was falling, feeling as if her body was floating in air, waiting for the bone crushing impact that was expected at the end, even as the Beast seemed to cradle her in it's huge, harry arms. Far too much for her to process, let alone understand, Jade felt herself just give up, and the world went black.

:}

So, thats my first attempt at horror. Felt like I slipped into the bad habit of trying to make my bad cultists as evil as possible, but in all honesty, there's a reason their like that. Too bad we'll probably never know why their the way they are. However, there is a second chapter, in case anyone wants it. I'll probably post it in a few days, regardless of what people want.

So, thoughts? I'm interested to know, what do you think?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or any of it's characters

Warning, there will be an explanation in here someplace. A lot of explanation. Until then, enjoy…

:}

Slowly Jade's world came back into focus. The pale girl was confused, unable to identify what the strange things she was feeling around her. 'I feel… Warm… Yes, warm, and while my body aches, it's not as bad as it could be. It's like, I was tortured, yea, I was tortured, and I need to recover, but I'm not laying on the ground, or in some cramped pet crate. I'm… I'm...' Her mind was having trouble focusing. 'Last thing I remember was...'

It all came back to her. The torture, pain and humiliation and her willingness to do anything to make the hurting end. Jade knew she had to be emotionally scarred from that experience, but somehow she was holding together, except for the fear that shot through her body when she thought too long about it. Then her mind went to the ritual, up on the tower bleeding, only for the monster they called for to attack them. She could remember seeing the creature tearing up the cultists, it's fur tight on it's body, functionally a dark gray blur far below her. 'Then it was next to me, covered in blood, ripping the guards apart. I.. did it hurt my father? Is my dad okay? It reached for me, grabbed me, tore me free from the frame they had be tied to. I was falling, and…' Her mind circled around one thought. "I'm not dead."

"No, you're not." The voice was male, oddly calming and familiar in a way that Jade couldn't place. Blue green eyes looked to the source, finding a man in a beastly mask, the face of some kind of feral animal, standing near the foot of her bed. "You did suffer some major trauma, however, and need your rest. I'm just going to keep an eye on you until their ready for you. So, try to get a little ore sleep, and I'll see if they want you to maybe eat something. It's had to be a while."

"Ryder Daniels?" Jade asked. She'd known the boy, back when he attended Hollywood Arts, but never really associated with him. 'After the whole "trying to use Tori for a grade" thing, he was less then a footnote. We never really thought about him.'

"Please, we wear masks for a reason." He complained. Jade noted his reddish brown robes were highlighted by magenta, a different shade of reddish brown. Worn like a monks robes, with the mask covering his face, it cut an odd, imposing sight. "But yea. Might as well take this thing off then, cause I'm not fooling anyone. Plenty of time to put it on before the ritual."

"What ritual?" Jade wondered aloud.

"The ritual to contain the Glorious Beast." He replied, sounding like it was obvious. "Gonna need you able to stand, so I'm watching you, making sure you heal up right and regain enough strength. So, um, yea, let me know if anything in particular is bothering you, kay."

"So your a doctor?" Jade asked. He was still so young, but in her current condition, she would probably believe just about anything. 'Playing doctor?' She asked herself.

"Nursing student." He said. "I got the basic training, and I'm working on my baccalaureate. Once I go that, it's the masters for me, and I'm a nurse practitioner, able to do a whole lot of the stuff you normally need a doctor to do, but in a fraction of the time. That is, getting the degree. Still takes about as long to get the medical procedure taken care of. Plus, I'll be able to prescribe drugs."

"And the ritual?" Jade asked, not really caring about his plans.

"Not sure of the details, just know it has to happen soon." Ryder replied, his mask now on the table near him. "Oh, yea, FYI, there is a doctor here, but we had wounded from the rescue. I've texted him about maybe getting you something to eat."

"My dad?" Jade asked, needing to know, and worried that her father was lost to the monsters claws. Strangely, she wasn't feeling hungry, just a minor sense of nausea. But fearing for her father overrode even those feelings.

"He's safe." The older boy said. "We kinda need him too. So you rest, and let the salves we've used on you do their work. Don't worry, things will all make sense soon."

"One more thing." Jade said, stopping him from moving, even if he really just wanted to sit down, relax and read a bit. "You said the Glorious Beast?"

Ryder sighed. "I only kinda fell into this in the last year or so, but yea. I worship the Glorious Beast. And before you say it, yea, so did those other guys. But I'm part of a church that believes in the good that can come from the Beasts energies. We get something for our devotion. Those guys, they were into destruction for it's own sake. So no, it wasn't that big a thing when we tried to wipe them out."

"And the Beast?" Jade asked.

"Thats for one of the priestesses to explain." He replied. "Me, I'm just here for the perks, and to make sure your walking again, real soon. Sorry Jade, but my goddess demands you be part of the sacrifice. Now get some rest."

'Goddess?' Jade wondered, even as Ryder turned off the lights, and her body started to fade. Almost magically, she found herself falling asleep.

Jade was amazed she could sleep, let alone how quickly she fell. But she did, and for an unknown amount of time, she drifted in a dreamless void where only darkness and a strange, familiar feeling seemed to exist. Once again, Jade wouldn't remember when she woke, but drew an odd comfort from the darkness, like it was familiar as the womb.

The pale girls eyes snapped open, and the world came crashing down upon her. 'What…?' Her mind reeled, trying to shift back from the comfortable, safe place she'd been. "Ryder?"

"Sorry, but it's time." He said. "They brought you some cloths. Yea, you get to wear something for THIS ritual. Anyways, I put it here, by the bed. If your strong enough, get dressed. If not, then some of the priestesses will be by to help you get dressed."

Jade looked at the pile sitting next to her bed. 'Purple? I'm gonna be wearing purple?' She thought. "Any chance I can get something in black?"

"Just get dressed." Said a woman in a demon mask, wearing the same reddish brown robes she'd seen before. "We don't have a lot of time." Jade noted that she didn't recognize this voice at all.

Jade also realized that Ryder was placing his mask back on, the bestial face leering at her, with an odd, feral look upon it. "Okay, let me get moving..." he said, even as jade tried to will her body to react.

Jade felt her body moving, reacting to her will, and while her limbs felt like led, she felt a lot better then she had. Rest, the ointment, both had reduced her pain. But even as she celebrated the fact that she was stronger, Jade still felt worried, scared about what was about to happen. 'I'm the key to the Beast.' She reminded herself. "So, whats about to happen?"

"The next step in binding The Beast." The masked priestess in magenta and azure said. It was Jade's first warning that the woman had shown up, even as she felt the voice, distorted as it was, was still somehow familiar, like she had to know the girl behind the demon mask. This woman was shorter then she was, but not by much. Then again, she could be wearing heels, and Jade wouldn't have a clue. The robes reached just above the floor.

Jade had been looking at the robes, because while they looked like simple monks robes, they flowed like they were weighted, creating a more circular motion around the body, similar to how some skirts are made. Then there were the masks. For this cult, all the masks were full face masks, concealing all parts of the wearers identity. It was yet another stark difference between this cult and the last one that had her. This cult put a lot of effort into how everyone looked, from colors to robes, to the fact that, while many were similar, every mask was in some way unique.

Jade pulled her underwear on, panties slowly making their way up her tired legs, until she reached her thighs, and saw the cuts. Shallow cuts with a sharp blade, there should have been angry red lines along her skin, probably still leaking blood. Instead, there was faded white marks, like the wound was months old, and fading from memory. 'How...'

"Hurry up." The demon priestess commanded. Jade glared at her, but still couldn't seem to muster up much anger, hate, or any of the emotions she'd come to rely upon in her life. Instead, as fear filled her body, Jade forced herself to keep moving, pulling her bra on, then the long purple robes.

Two women in the brown red robes stepped forward, apparently able to see well enough as they adjusted the almost non existent makeup on Jade; making her look nearly her best. "Don't worry, it'll all be over real soon." One of the girls said.

"Don't talk to her." The priestess ordered, and the faithful obeyed. "Jade, part of the reason you're moving slowly is because someone drugged you. It's not out of your system yet, but it will be soon, and we need to do this ritual before it's gone. So, since you look ready, lets get moving."

Jade slid her feet into the slippers they'd provided for her, and followed along the small procession of women in demon masks, while the priestess left her, heading off to check on something else. Jade wasn't sure she wanted to know, even as she was following the line of women to the waiting area. There, she found four men in animal masks who assumed guard positions around her. But guarded as she was, Jade was allowed to move, a bit, just as long as she didn't go anywhere. Close to the back of the room there was a sealed door, and through it she heard what sounded like yelling, one voice being oddly familiar, and the other being terrifyingly so. Pressing her ear to the door let her understand those words, since their voices were more raised then screaming, but still a rage Jade couldn't find in herself seemed to color both of their words.

"I called you, let let you know where she was, so why are you freaking?" The more familiar, and male, voice screamed, even if it was dulled to the point where she could barely hear from her vantage point. "You have her, and are gonna bind the Beast. Praise be the glorious one's name..."

"Don't you dare give me that attitude." The other voice yelled back. It was female, familiar, but not so much that Jade could recognize it through the wall. "You only called when you realized they were trying to free the Beast. I swear, if she'd died, we wouldn't be having this conversation. And you, you're far better off us having this conversation."

"Yea, yea, I get it, you'd have me killed." Mister West said, his voice still amplified by rage and frustration. Jade's heart broke a little as she recognized her fathers voice, even as she continued to listen to the argument. "I had to end the threat. You weren't gonna do anything about it, so..."

"It wasn't your problem." The female voice snapped. "You were more then paid for your participation, and never once seemed to mind the perks you got. Our goddess made sure you had every opportunity, every break she could offer. You're stock soared, giving you money, respect, the good life…."

"YOU TOOK MY DAUGHTER, FROM BEFORE SHE WAS OLD ENOUGH TO WALK, YOU TOOK HER AND LINKED HER TO THAT BEAST." Mister West somehow managed to shake the whole room, his scream was that loud. "If I hadn't let those men take her, back when she was twelve… I was hoping that her suffering would be mercifully short. But if I'd realized how close she was at that moment, then the tragedy of Bowling Green wouldn't have happened."

"Glory is coming." The female voice called back. "Yes, you opened the door for the Beast. You eldest, your daughter, was born to fulfill a purpose, and free the Beast from it's prison. And you were well paid, so stop complaining. After all, what happened in Bowling Green was partially because you let them take her, kept her from us, instead of asking our help and relying upon us to contain her. It was because of you that the Beast broke free in Bowling Green. But your actions had deeper consequences. Because of you, your actions, others have tried to free the Beast. Each time, all they've achieved is cracks, small holes in reality. Holes only large enough for the Beasts power to slip though for the briefest of times, in the most incomplete of forms. And always, when the Beast was freed, it came fueled by rage. Until we fix your mistake, when the Glorious Beast comes, it come's in the form of the destroyer. Thousands have died, all because of you."

Jade felt her heart break with the next words her father said. "Which is why Jade has to die." Her father demanded, and the pale girl died just a little more inside.

"What are you listening to?" A tall, solidly built man wearing a lion mask asked. Jade jumped at his voice. The man, however, pressed his ear to the wall Jade had been against, just a moment earlier. "Ahh, heard things you wish you hadn't? No mater, Glorificus is waiting, and you, my dear, will help us bind the Beast and free our goddess from her cursed existence. Afterwards, that argument you heard won't mater. So, you ready to learn the truth?" She could almost imagine his smile, even as his face remained a mystery. "Great, but first, I have something for you. It's not much, but it's something." He handed her a glass full of some milky liquid. "Thats instant breakfast mixed with milk and powdered diet drink mix. Lots of nutrients, and with luck, it'll keep you from being too hungry. Also, with luck it'll ease your tummy." It was odd hearing this large man growl out the word tummy. "So drink it, and then lets go, cause we're ready." Jade felt she'd heard his voice before as well, despite the mask, and the distortion that it somehow had built in.

Jade downed the drink, not sure when the last time she ate was, only to remember it was a snack with Tori at her the Vega home. There was a moment of pain, emotional, as she remembered she'd never see her girlfriend again, before the now empty glass was taken away from her and handed to some functionary. Then, they were off on their way. 'Tori, please, know that I love you...'

Jade was led by the man in the lion mask, along with her entourage of maybe a half dozen women and four men, down a hall, then to a right turn, then a short hall, to a double door on the right that led, of course, into a large, chapel like room. "This was the room behind that door. We could have walked right through, come in over there, behind the alter. Only, thats for the priests, not lay people like me." The large man explained. Where he pointed, the high priestess stood, surrounded by lower priestesses, as well as a few choice others.

The high priestess was a taller woman dressed in gold and blue, her robes seeming to be of a far better material then the other, lower people's were. Her demon mask was odd, in that it was almost a blank slate, as opposed to some demonic visage. Only a few minor traits made it clear that this was a demonic mask, and that the woman behind it was someone of considerable power in this church.

Jade had been stopped near the back while the lion masked man walked forwards to converse with the high priestess. The lesser priestess from before, dressed in magenta and azure, and apparently above so many of the other priestesses around them, stood next to the high priestess, acting as an assistant to the head clergy. There were others in the room, both up near the alter, helping make last minute preparations, and filling the room, seated in the rows that took up so much of the floor space. In fact, the large chapel seemed filled with parishioners, most in the simple monk like robes, in reddish brown. Maybe a hundred people populated the room, filling the folding chairs and otherwise ready for whatever was about to happen. Jade was left wondering as well. 'Whats happening here… Are they gonna watch me die…?'

"Okay, lets get this over with." Mister West said as he approached from the side. He was dressed as he'd been all night, in his dark blue suit, no mask, looking more tired then he had in Jade's experience. Only a beast like tie pin broke the businessman mold. However, as he stood next to Jade, his words from earlier hit her, and the pale girl snorted.

"Anxious to get rid of me?" Jade asked. Hurt laced her voice, along with the fear that no one could love her.

"I just want this over." He replied. "I never wanted you to suffer. This," his hands waving at the room, "I waned us both to be free, away from the very real dangers that mark you carry represents. Jade, I'm sorry, but this, it's not the way I wanted it, but it's our only choice now."

Jade wanted to scream, to cry out, but she couldn't bring herself to speak, not as long as her father was speaking, just in case he said something to magically undo the fact that everything that had happened to her in the last couple of days was his fault. Her fear of dying was mitigated by the hurt, and her desire to please her father. 'Okay, dad, I'll die for you. But you'd better miss me.' Her bitter thoughts came. Still, no words passed her lips.

Then the music swelled, music that came from some speakers hidden somewhere, since she was having a hard time finding them. 'Or maybe it's one of those top of the line sound systems, where the music seems to come from everywhere without the hundred speakers?' Jade pondered, letting her mind be momentarily distracted by that thought, just before the men with her started her moving forward.

Her dad escorted Jade, but it was the men around her that pushed her forward, walking down the procession, with her every move watched by those assembled. Jade never in her life wanted to avoid an audience so badly. However, before she could so much as scream a single word, she'd reached the point where the man in the lion mask was waiting. Her father simply stepped aside, letting the man take Jade forward a few steps, and placing another man in a familiar bestial mask next to her in his stead as he headed off to take care of his next duty.

"So, you ready?" Ryder asked. "Looks like I get a front row seat. Hope this show doesn't disappoint."

Jade wanted to scream, let her rage run free. But it was still blunted, bringing only a raw, naked fear she hated almost as much as her father apparently hated her. Instead, she watched as the man in the lion mask made a noise, letting the congregation know that the show was now at the rear of the chapel. There, next to the man in the lion mask was another priestess in Magenta with Azure trim. The second priests wore a beastial mask similar to the face of the Beast, the creature that had, in effect, rescued Jade and her father. This women walked slowly towards the man in the lion mask, who'd been waiting for her, escorted by a good half dozen women who trailed behind her. Unlike Jade, there were no men in her entourage, a sign she was willingly going to this ritual.

When the priestess arrived at the man in the lion mask, she hesitated, removing removed the robes to reveal a translucent white dress over skin tone undergarments that almost blended in with her own flesh, giving the illusion she was naked under the dress. Jade knew, as soon as she saw the body, it's every curve familiar to her, who that priestess was. The familiar voices all snapped into clarity, and Jade was able to place a face and name with each one. All that was left was for this girl to speak, or do anything to confirm Jade's deeply feared suspensions.

'Please, not her. I-I don't know if I can take any more betrayal...' Jade begged, even as the women removed her mask, revealing a similarly translucent veil covering her face. 'Tori, why…?'

The youngest Vega walked next to who Jade assumed was her father, his face still hidden behind his lion mask, heading up the aisle to join where Jade stood. Jade's father stood behind her, ready for whatever roll he'd have in this travesty. The high priestess, Holly Vega, spoke, her voice still distorted, calling out chants and asking for responses, all in some foreign language Jade assumed was similar to Latin, but older, since she didn't understand any of it, and she spoke Spanish. At one point, her father spoke in that same language, saying something in a manor that Jade was sure was coached, and probably mispronounced, but still potent in it's own way.

"Jade, listen." Tori said, suddenly speaking to her in hushed tones, after not even looking the entire ritual. "You need my strength for the trial to come. Take this ring, let me place it on your finger, to share our wills, give you the power to complete the task, and bind the Beast." A simple yet elegant gold ring had materialized in the singers right hand. Jade's eyes locked on it, unable to look away, wondering what would happen when Tori did whatever it was she was going to do with that ring.

Jade felt her left hand being lifted, and the golden ring slowly sliding up onto it, then she was gently let go of, allowing her to retrieve the hand. "To complete the bonding, you have to take the ring from your father and place it on my finger. Just do that, and the sacrifice will be over. Please, Jade, I don't want you to die. Please just take the ring, put it on my finger." Tori was crying under the veil, and Jade felt her love for her girlfriend.

"Tori…?" Jade asked, trying to make sense of what was happening. Her mind was still muddled from the drugs, as well as everything she'd endured in the last who knows how long. It felt like a week, but could only have been a few hours. All Jade knew was she felt too many betrayals to count, and now Tori was asking, begging for her to trust. It didn't make sense to her, despite her feelings. Trust wasn't ever something that came naturally to the blue eyed girl...

"Jade, please, I don't wanna lose you." Tori begged. The singers eyes held so much hurt. Pain and worry and desperation begging the pale girl to just do her part. "Please, Jade, just take the ring from your dad and put it on my finger, and this ritual will be done. We only have a short amount of time before it's too late, so I can't explain. But if you do, I promise, I'll tell you everything. Baby, please..."

'If I have to die, let me protect Tori.' She decided, still not sure what else was happening, but certain that if she was gong to trust someone, it would be her Tori. Unsure as to whether or not Tori needed saving, but holding onto the idea that her girl was something she could sacrifice her life for, Jade took the ring from her father, who was under the watchful glare of the priestess Jade assumed was Trina. Not sure what else to do, how to continue with the self sacrifice, she allowed herself to be guided, by Tori, to sliding the ring on the girls left ring finger.

Holly let out a loud howl, primal and bestial, and it was echoed by every priest and priestess in the room. Then, a louder, more human shout echoed throughout the room, and people stood up, applauding, as men and women took off their masks. Jade would have liked to know what was going on, but she was being swept out of the room by Tori and several men.

"Tori, did we just…?" Jade tried to ask.

"I'll explain everything, but the drugs are wearing off, and it's not safe to give you any more." Tori said, rushing along with the group.

They went out a side door, through what Jade thought was the room she'd been briefly held I while getting ready, out the other side, and down a hall, heading opposite the direction she'd gone to head towards the front of the chapel. At the end of the hall, Jade was dragged out a door and down some stairs.

'No sky? Is this building that big, or are we…?' The pale girl tried to understand, her mind needing some normalcy. She just needed one familiar thing to anchor on, so she could figure things out. Making it harder, her rage was slowly starting to return, and it was building on it's self, feeding on all the hurt and fear she'd been all but drowning in before.

The stairs cut deep into the earth, rushing down at least three stories. The stairs had railings, but instead of using them for balance, the group used them for support, since the party was moving that quickly. At the bottom of the stairs they veered down a short, rough cut hallway, through an open arch, and onto a medium sized cave. Larger then the black box theater, it was prepared for some kind of ritual.

Jade was pulled to the chains fastened to the floor, in the center of the room. As she was being chained down, her arms and legs shackled, one of the men was uncovering a circle of runes carved into the stone around her spot, while another was unpacking some strange glowing orbs that she felt repulsed by. The third and fourth men were securing her, finding some form of carpet to slip under her, and then moving back as the spheres finished encircling her, just inside the runes.

"Jade, I'm so sorry for the precautions, but we don't need what happened in Bowling Green to happen here in Los Angeles." Tori struggled to explain. She'd tried to take a step closer to her girl, but the circle of spheres had some form of painful effect on Tori too, pushing her back and keeping the scantly dressed girl away.

"Tori, your robes." Ryder said, entering the room as he caught up, and then holding the robes open, so Tori could easily slip in. "How're things going?"

"We'll know, soon enough." Tori told him, even as five women entered and surrounded Jade, each placing a large clear crystal of some sort just outside the circle of runes, then started chanting.

Jade felt it, the walls rising along the line of crystal. The others, finished with their earlier tasks, placed smaller crystals along between the large ones, bisecting each line, the repeating the process with even more crystals, until there was a line of small crystals between each large one, and the fields that the pale girl could feel like a physical thing, grew even stronger. The men added their voiced to the chanting, even as Tori tried to tell Jade something.

"Jade, I have to explain." Tori tried to say, but was almost yelling. "You... no!" She shook her head. "I have to start earlier."

"A long time ago, there was a war between three demon gods." Trina filed in. She'd arrived, and while offering some support, was hugging the walls of the cave, as if somehow the restraints on Jade were hurting her too. Her mask was gone, but her robes still hung from her body, signifying her rank. "Glorificus was one of them, and she grew so strong, she waged war against the other two, trying to absorb them and grow even stronger. Course, they killed her, but not before they were mortally wounded. That hell dimension is now in flux, ruled by lesser creatures, waiting for the return of one of the fallen gods. Only, not gonna happen, cause their all dead."

"Only, Glory wasn't totally dead." Tori amended.

"I was getting there." Trina scolded her sister.

"Look, Jade's growing more and more wazzed. We don't have a lot of time." The younger Vega pointed out.

Indeed, Jade was feeling all her fears shifting to rage, fight or flight turning to battle. Her body tensed, adrenaline pumping through her veins for the first time since she could remember. At least since the ordeal of the last day or so started.

"Anyways, the various cults that worshiper her ghost could, and would, draw upon her power to enhance their magics." Trina continued. "Instead of minor effect that required mad preparations and group efforts to enhance, they could do big things, healing, or transforming into some kind of monstrous form. That kind of chiz. Only, there was more of a price then just worship, we had to work to release the Beast, the child of Glorificus. Many tried, and a lot of the terrorist attacks that the authorities don't go too into are the results of some initiate, fueled by the power of the Breast, running wild, killing everything around." Trina shrugged. "Hell goddess."

"Point is, this order, the Order of Aurelius, we've been trying to find a way to birth the Beast." Tori said. "Mom was the latest, allowing herself to be majorly drugged, then having dad get her pregnant while she couldn't quite rip him to shreds. Kinda a bestiality thing. Thats how both Trina and I were conceived, and while it didn't work, it did give us a lot more connection to Glory. We can channel hella more power then most, and I can even take on the form of the Beast, in it's destroyer form, for short periods."

Jade was listing, and even though she knew this wasn't the time, she was growing madder and madder. All her techniques were being used, every trick she knew to quell the rage and bring her peace. However, she was feeling all the adrenaline she'd missed for the last however long, all at once, and she couldn't seem to be frightened anymore. She felt something shifting inside, as the world seemed to turn a slight shade of red...

"POINT IS, JADE, YOU'RE THE BEAST!" Trina screamed.

"We hadn't gotten there yet." Tori complained. But even she could tell, it was almost too late, as Jade was shifting forms, ever so slightly, and the barriers started to feel the pressure of the young goths growing power.

Already, Jade could feel her body expanding, even as the rage tried to take away conscious thought. Jade was going berserk, and she didn't want too. But her body was shifting, growing, expanding, forcing the chains apart, but not yet breaking free. The circle shrank around her, pulling her down, pushing the Painful orbs into her sides. A roar, filled with rage and hate and uncontrolled lust for blood, echoed through the small room.

'I'm the beast.' Jade anchored on that, and with that thought came memories, images her then young woman's mind wasn't ready for.

Jade was twelve when she was kidnapped. The men who took her demanded money from her father, and Jade assumed he would pay, because even though he'd been distant, what else would he do? However, one of the men decided to have some fun with her first, without even knowing if they'd need her to get their money. Jade now could, for the first time, remember him touching her, ripping her clothes off, laughing as her terrified eyes saw him growing hard. Then, as she lay there terrified, waiting to be violated, something shifted inside, the fear turned to rage, to fight when she couldn't flee, and that rage unleashed something. Something dark, bestial, monstrous.

Jade remembered ripping his penis off, then using her new claws to tear him apart. When the screams changed, from a terrified girl to a dying men, his partners came in, and they followed him into death. But the Beast was still angry, and she wasn't anywhere near done.

Jade flashed through the images of hundreds of people, dying as she let out bursts of energy that exploded around her, only to ran down the people who hadn't died yet to rip and tear, and maybe even eat. The rage needed to be expressed, and the Beast wasn't whole. It only knew hatred, rage, pain. Jade only knew fear and rage, and something inside her told her that if they feared her, she wouldn't fear them.

'But I'm more then just rage and fear.' Protested that small part of Jade that was stubborn, refused to be typecast. The part that did two installments of "Things Jade Loves," just because only hating would be boring and predictable, and Jade West was never predicable.

'I'm not a monster, no mater what Rex says.' Jade decided, and she pushed back against the raging beast, even as it strained against the restraints the cult had built around her. Using her love, of coffee, of Tori, of Beck, despite them not being right for one another, and of Cat and her other friends, and even her love for her parents, who'd lived her entire life terrified of what she could become, Jade pushed against the rage. Jade marshaled that love, and Tori's enhanced love for her felt through the ring, and pulled the rage down, making it something other then just pain. "I use acting and art to release my pain." Jade said, not aware her shouts, while bestial and almost unintelligible, were still echoing through the complex. "I choose how I react, because to be feared, I have to be more then predictable. Rage is controllable, either by me, or the people manipulating me, and I refuse to be manipulated. I'm in control, damn it, and I won't be this monster. I'M JADE FREAKING WEST, AND I'M IN CONTROL!" She felt like she was exerting herself, pushing with all her might...

There was a loud, terrifying roar, followed by what might have been an explosion, and then, for the second time in a day, Jade blacked out.

In her dream, Jade saw a beautiful woman standing over her, eyes full of hope and pride. The strange woman's arms were holding the shaking, exhausted goth, giving Jade the comfort she'd wished for her entire life. This was Jade's other mother, at last able to give her child something other then her hate, ambition and desire. Glory held her child at the edge of the dream realms, bonding in all too human emotions, but Jade was only dimply aware of this.

Jade woke up, naked, in the middle of the circle, damage all around her. "Did I..?" She asked. There were only two people in the room with her, Ryder, who was holding something for the other, and Trina.

"You exploded." Trina confirmed. "Luckily, Tori and I knew enough to set up wards. Also thanks to those special wedding rings, Tori was even absorbed the energy, or at least a lot of it, and used it to tend to the wounded. So no fatalities, only minor injuries now, and hell, the roof didn't collapse. We're good."

"You had the room set to collapse, didn't you?" Jade asked, eyeing the ceiling above her.

"Weren't sure it'd stop you, but yea." Trina confirmed, tossing Jade a new set of clothes, robes over new underwear. Both were better able to relax, as Jade's last release had destroyed the orbs that the cult had spent years making. "And the explosives were hidden in solid containers, against where out engineers said to place them for maximum effect, so we weren't worried about you ripping the place open and us not getting you."

"Thanks." Jade said dryly, even though she suspected she actually meant it.

"You okay?" The older girl asked.

"No." Jade replied. "Why do I see their faces?"

"Who's?" Trina suspected she knew, but also suspected this was the time to ask. 'Time to start the healing...'

"The people of Bowling Green? I killed them. I hunted them down and killed them all." Jade was surprised she still had tears.

"You're the Beast, the demi-goddes child of Glorificus." Trina explained. "A couple of months after Tori was conceived, your mother, your human mother, got drunk, then invited the goddess inside her, sealing a deal your dad had secretly made with the then high priest. Guy was a jerk, but the results..." Trina looked oddly at the pale girl. "Honestly, we have no idea why it worked that time, when you were conceived, but it did, and I think your dad has been terrified ever since." Trina burst into a big smile. "But bright side, that means your the key to freeing Glory from her prison of ghostly form. You can help bring order to her dimension."

"And then what?" Jade asked.

"In time, that bestial side of you will be more and more under control. There's a lot you can do with it, hella more we can. You won't have your full power for a long, long time, but we will still have access, thus the order survives." Trina said, smiling a knowing smile. "But thats for another day, another time. You, your stronger now, won't just let the Beast slip out. Go, see Tori. She wants her wedding night."

"Right..." Jade chuckled. She was finished getting dressed, and was checking out the remains of the chains that had bound her. "Wait, you're serious about that?" Her face snapped up to look at Trina, who was standing with her mask in her hand.

"Why not?" Trina asked. "Using an obscure religious freedom law, we didn't even need your consent, not as long as you were under eighteen, and one of your parents was there to give consent. So yea, you're married. Gonna be so much fun to explain Monday, when you head back to Hollywood Arts. But yep, married, and now, you have an antsy wife looking for some comfort."

Jade started following Ryder out of the cave. "So, how far under ground are we?" While she'd known that only the three of them were left in the room, no one had mentioned where the others had gone, even if Trina had given a strong hint. Jade assumed that everyone else around whens he was struggling with the beast was injured, and being attended to by Tori, or got away unhurt, and was helping Tori attend to the wounded.

"Maybe five stories." Trina replied, trailing behind them, smiling. "Don't worry, you a part of the order now. I'll explain everything, in time. Just, wife..." She gestured towards the stairs, and an unconventional future for the pale girl.

Jade had other questions, but understood that she could only absorb so much at once. She also understood that her ghostly mother had helped her process through the trauma of the torture, giving her the ability to function now. Mostly, jade accepted that she did love Tori, and had a delayed wedding night to attend. With a sigh, Jade followed Ryder up the stairs and into her new life.

:}

Okay, that happened. To those who liked the ending, and the way I set things up, your welcome. To the others, sorry? Jade was always the beast, even if she didn't know or understand it. So, thoughts, critiques, comments. We have that review button, just waiting, looking so tempting.

No actual cultist were hurt in the writing of this story. The order of Aurelius, like many things, was altered to suit my purposes. Hope you enjoyed it.


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